JUBILANT JAPAN:Regional markets got a boost as the pro-stimulus Liberal Democratic Party swept to power in Japan, although Taipei and Seoul bucked the rising trend

However, Shih added that because many foreign investors were absent from yesterday’s session, the low trading volume could not be used to draw a definitive conclusion on the direction of future trading.

Among the winning high-tech stocks in Taiwan yesterday was TSMC, the world’s largest contract chip maker, which gained 0.95 percent to close at NT$95.70, and Hon Hai, which added 1.26 percent to end at NT$88.10.

The paper and pulp sector scored the highest gains among the eight major sectors of the market, finishing up 2.2 percent. Machinery and electronics shares rose 0.6 percent, financial stocks added 0.4 percent, and the textile and construction sectors each closed up 0.3 percent. Bucking the broader market, cement stocks fell 1.0 percent, and food shares and plastics and chemical stocks ended down 0.3 percent.